All I learn about languages.

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Many native Portuguese speakers don’t really know how crases work: some change them for accute accents (e.g. as in “á”), simply forget them or even unnecessarily add them where they’re are not required.

The other day I found – written in a book(!) – a Portuguese sentence written wrong: “Ela precisa ir dormir até [sic] às 22h”. Which in English means “She needs to go to sleep by 10 p.m.”

Well, but aren’t we supposed to use “às” before using a point of time (e.g. 10p.m./10h)? Not always…

If you’re learning Portuguese as a foreign – or second – language you might be asking yourself: what the heck is a crasis? Keep on reading…

Last Tuesday I returned to my regular German classes and, oh my, it’s so good to be back. I had never lost touch with the language as all my gadgets, computer, Facebook, Twitter and even some of my friends posts are in German. Anyhow, following a book again, speaking German, making mistakes, having a great teacher to correct me, and interacting with others by using German are things you cannot easily get outside a classroom.

So we’re studying clothes, die Kleidung, and I’d like to share what I’ve learnt so far.

So I decided to finally write a post about the Japanese language; the language I’m a beginner at but which I’ve already fallen in love with.

You may be wondering: “why in the world would I learn all these crazy symbols if I know nothing about Japan?” For starters, the fact that something is different from what you know doesn’t make it crazy; besides, it’s easier, way easier, than you think.

When I had decided to study Japanese some people suggested me to study Chinese instead, due to its economical advantages. What people don’t get it, and I hope you do, is that no matter what you study, work with, and do, you must feel connected to it somehow. Yeah, it sounds cheesy, but I mean it! Maybe you’re just curious and attracted by the exoticness of Japanese “letters” or the richness of this language’s culture, it doesn’t matter: go for it!

During my trip to Canada I stayed in a coastal city – Vancouver – where I heard these words a lot. Being born and raised in a Brazilian inland city – Blumenau – the definition of those words were overlapping inside my head; I couldn’t understand their differences and neither could some native Canadians. When I asked them some would stop to think about it and start discussing with each other whether a specific place is a quay or harbour, for instance.

Now, after researching (i.e. googling) for a while, I’m here to share with you what I’ve found.

Some things you can count but other ones you cannot.
That’s the reason you have to be careful when using “many” or “much”, for instance. Let me make it clear: some words can only be used with things you can relate to a quantity, i.e. a specified amount.

So you want to use indefinite quantifiers – words you put in front of a noun which are not quantities but represent “how much” it is – but you are not sure when to use them?
It’s easier than you think.